Agents and Intelligent Systems
Learn about the design, functions, and types of AI agents and discover how they are the building blocks for creating advanced intelligent systems.
We'll cover the following...
We are interested in building intelligent systems that mimic human behavior. Let's study the key elements for bringing such systems to life.
Agents
An agent is a program or machine that can sense what's happening around it and make decisions to do something useful. It tries to achieve a goal by sensing its surroundings and then acting in a way that will get it closer to that goal. In other words, an agent can sense the environment using sensors and act accordingly through actuators.
The table below shows some interesting examples of agents with sensors and actuators.
Agent Type | Sensors | Actuators |
Human | Eyes, ears, nose, skin, tongue | Hands, legs, mouth, vocal cords |
Bird | Eyes, ears, beak, feathers | Wings, legs, beak |
Robot | Cameras, infrared range finders, ultrasonic sensors, touch sensors | Motors, robotic arms, wheels |
Autonomous vehicle | Radar, cameras, GPS, ultrasonic sensors | Steering mechanism, brakes, throttle control |
Agent function
Agents receive input through sensors; we call this input "percept." A series of inputs perceived by an agent through its sensors is called percept history. Typically, an agent's decision on which action to take at any moment, using its actuators, can ...